A theatrical sensation since the 1960s, whose dramas included Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt, Stoppard also had huge success as a screenwriter The playwright Tom Stoppard, whose playful erudition dazzled the theatregoing world for decades, has died aged 88. One of a select band of writers from any discipline to earn his own adjective – “Stoppardian” – in the Oxford English Dictionary, he delighted in the most improbable juxtapositions: philosophy and gymnastics in Jumpers (1972); early 19th-century landscape gardening and chaos theory in Arcadia (1993); rock music, dissident Czech academics and the love poetry of Sappho in Rock ’n’ Roll (2006). Continue reading...

Lord Walney expresses concern over Reform leader’s response as Labour calls on Farage to address ‘disturbing’ allegations Nigel Farage’s wholesale denial of claims from witnesses of alleged racist behaviour during his teenage years has been described as “troubling” by the last government’s adviser on political extremism. Lord Walney, who was an adviser to the Conservative government as a cross-bench peer, said testimonies reported by the Guardian appeared credible and that the Reform leader’s response would be concerning to many. Continue reading...

Bafta-winning director among contemporaries urging contrition and apology from Reform UK leader, who denies the allegations

President Donald Trump on Tuesday angrily dismissed a question about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, claiming the Saudi dissident journalist was “extremely controversial” and insisting the subject...

The Reform UK council leader has raised fears over an upcoming BBC documentary, as the national party appears to have told members to boycott filming.